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Preliminary Notices on the Discovery of a Planned,
Classical Town near Kyparissia, Gortynia*
Anna VasiJiki Karapanagiotou
This paper presents the evidence for the discovery of a regularly planned town of the
classical period near modem Kyparissia in southwestern Arkadia. For the first time in
the archaeology of Arkadia, a planned town has been uncovered that predates the
synoecism of MegalopoIis in the 4th century B.C. Based on a thorough presentation of
the archaeological data, the author challenges previous argumentations concerning
synoecism in ancient Arkadia, attempts a reconstruction of the urban plan of the newly
discovered town and assesses its identification with urban centres mentioned in historic
and ancient periegetic sources.
1. Introduction
On the eastern slopes of Mount Lykaion and ca. 15 km northwest of Megalopolis the modern village of Kyparissia is situated, spread over two hills.!
(Plan 1) The first one (374 m above sea level) is occupied by the houses of the
village, whereas the other (400 m high) bears on its top the recently renovated
funerary chapel of Hagia Kyriaki. On another height, one km northwest of
Kyparissia, the hamlet of Mavria is located. 2 The two localities are accessible
from east-northeast, across an extensive plain that stretches out towards the
river Alpheios and is crossed by the Sikalias stream.
* My warmest ackowledgements are offered to Prof. Hans Lauter and to my colleague Or.
Polyxeni Bouyia for their useful comments on the text. My gratitude is also expressed to the
editor Prof. Erik 0stby and to Or. Chrysanthi Gallou for the translation of the original Greek
text. This paper is a slightly changed version of the communication read at the seminar, with
the addition of detailed data reports and the absolutely necessary footnotes. The processing and
conservation of the material from the excavation have not yet been completed, therefore the
evidence presented here is far from conclusive. See also the papers on the subject by
Karapanagiotou 1997; ead. 1998; ead., forthcoming.
1. Koutsoukos 1980, 113; Pikoulas 2001, no. 2001.
2. Koutsoukos 1980, 117; Pikoulas 2001, no. 2378.
332
ANNA VASILlKI KARAPANAGIOTOU
Pausanias informs us that in antiquity the area was occupied by the territory
of Trapezous. The Periegetes, following the road from Gortys to Megalopolis
and immediately after pointing out the ruins of Brenthe (in the area of modern
Karytaina), states (8.29.1-5); IIICX~aVTWV oE 'AAQlEIOV xwpcx TE KaAOUJ.lEVfJ
Tpcxml,;ouvTlcx KOI TToAEwe;; 'EOTIV 'EPe! TTlCX Tpcxml,;ouvToe;;. KOI cxv61e;; 'ETTI TOV
'AAQlEIOV 'EV aploTEp~ KCXTCX~CXIVOVTI 'EK Tpcxml,;ouvToe;;, ou TTOpPW TOU TTOTCXJ.lOU
Ba60e;; 'EOTIV QVOJ.lCXl,;OJ.lEVOV, 'Ev6cx ayouol TEAET~V OICx houe;; TPITOU 6wle;;
MEyaAme;; '" TOU O'E XWPIOU TOU QVOJ.lcxl,;OJ.lEVOU Ba60ue;; OTcxoloue;; we;; OEKCX
aQlEOTfJKE KCXAOUJ.lEVfJ BcxOlAk. Since the beginning of the 19th century, European
scholars and travellers have identified Trapezous in the area of Mavria and
Basilis near Kyparissia. 3 The view that the plain of Kyparissia should be
identified with ancient Basilis was also adopted by A.G. Bather and V.W. Yorke
who carried out the first excavations there at the end of the 19th century.4 The
brief investigation was restricted to the southeastern part of the village, the
Aionia, and brought to light" ... bases, possibly for the support of statues. The
best preserved of these consists of three slabs of whitish limestone ... "5 The
structure was dated "not much later than the sixth century B.C." and "at the
same place a fluted bronze bowl, probably dating from the fifth century B.C., and
some rough red-figured ware with hunting scenes" were found. 6 At the beginning
of the 20th century Stefanos Klon conducted new excavations in the same area,
slightly to the east, and uncovered foundations of structures that, according to
the excavator, identified beyond any doubt the site as ancient Trapezous. 7 No
excavation has been undertaken in the area ever since.
lI. The new excavations: 1998-2001
The recent investigation in the area has been necessitated by the protection of
the archaeological area of Kyparissia against the continuous mining activity of
3. Dodwe1l1819, 379-80; Leake 1830,27-8,291,293,321; Ross 1841,89-90; Curtius 1851,
304-5; Bursian 1872,240-1; Frazer 1898, 312-6. Generally on the subject see Jost 1985, 169-71.
4. Bather and Yorke 1892-93, 229-3l.
5. Bather and Yorke 1892-93,229.
6. Bather and Yorke 1892-93,230. Of the find objects from the excavation I have identified, in the storerooms of the Collection of Bronzes in the National Archaeological Museum,
the bronze skyphos with inventory number 10786 with the bronze skyphos (height 9 cm)
mentioned by Courby 1922, 332 n. 2. Cp. infra n. 40.
7. Klon 1907, 123. Concerning the place-name Armakadia which Klon uses to define his
excavation area, it should be noted that the flat stretches of the plain east-southeast of Kyparissia still preserve this name. Note, though, Jost 1985, 170, who locates the investigation area
"au Sud de Mavria, entre Mavria et le village actuellement abandonne de Phlorio". However,
the hamlet of Florio was located at a distance of ca. one km northwest of Mavria, as pinpointed
in the map of Arkadia provided in Callmer 1943.
PRELIMINARY NOTICES ON THE DISCOVERY OF A PLANNED.".
333
the Greek Electrical Company (DEI).s Under difficult circumstances, the 5th
Ephorate of Antiquities at Sparta has conducted rescue excavations in the plain
that extends east of Kyparissia from 1998 to 2001 and, in particular, within the
area already expropriated by DEI. 9 (Plan 2)
The uncovered ancient site (ca. 350 m above sea level) spreads over the plain
that extends east-northeast of the Hagia Kyriaki hill, north and south of the road
to Kyparissia. (Fig. 1) The stream Sikalias runs along the northern part of the
settlement, whereas the Alpheios river valley defines its eastern part. The
habitation was enclosed by a fortification wall whose north-northwestern section
has already been located and partially excavated. The eastern section of the wall
must have collapsed in the 1999 landslides that also destroyed part of the
settlement. The southern and western part of the settlement was protected by the
steep, acropolis-like hill of Hagia Kyriaki.
Until present, we have investigated part of the habitation area that extends to
the south of the modem road to Kyparissia. Our excavations have confirmed the
existence of a unique orthogonally arranged settlement in southwestern Arkadia.
The town was planned in rectangular blocks of nearly uniform size, traversed by
streets. Its urban plan has close similarities with Olynthos in Macedonia, which
was synoecized in 432 B.c. 10
The general picture obtained so far at Kyparissia is as follows: Six parallel
streets, 4.60 m wide, the OTEVWTTOI,11 with a west-southwest to east-northeast
direction, traverse the central and southern zone of the settlement, thus creating
six rectangular blocks. (Fig. 2) Each block is 54 m wide and is made up by two
rows of houses separated by a drainage alley (1.5 m wide), which collected
rainwater from the roofs. The streets are made of packed earth and are supplied
with an open drainage channel for the collection of rainwater and with a pave8. The existence of geological layers of lignite in the plain of Megalopolis has been known
for a long time. Lignite mining and exploitation began in late 19S0s; see Petronotis 1973, IS-8,
The plain of Kyparissia covers an area of 4S00 stremmata. Until summer 1998, when DEI took
the initiative to have the area investigated by excavation by the Sth Ephorate of Antiquities,
the Lignite Electrical Plant at Megalopolis had already exploited the southern half of the plain,
creating an ellipsoid crater about 2 km long and 1 km wide, in continuous and intensive
expansion northwards, with subsequent expropriations of the agricultural plots east of the villages Kyparissia and Mavria.
9. The financial expenses of the excavation were covered by DEI. The expropriated agricultural plots are no longer cultivated because of the activity of DEI, and are now used for
grazing by the inhabitants of Kyparissia and Mavria. When Ludwig Ross (1841,89-90) visited
Kyparissia, he noted that the farmland ea~t of the village was planted with vines.
10. For the history and town planning of Olynthos, see Hoepfner and Schwandner 1994,
68-113.
11. Forthe ancient term OTEVWTTOt;;, see Ginouves 1998, 178.
334
ANNA VASILIKI KARAPANAGIOTOU
ment of roughly worked limestone slabs. The settlement had a well-organized
system of water-provision and sewage, as suggested by the discovery of stonebuilt wells and pipelines of stone and terracotta. 12
As mentioned above, the width of each block is occupied by two rows of
houses with southern orientation, separated from each other by a drainage alley
and facing the street through which they were accessible. The excavated houses
preserve their stone socles to a height of 0.40 to 0.60 m, made of un worked
stones of small and moderate size, packed with earth. All walls are 0.40 to 0.50
m thick. Little, if any, distinction is made between interior and exterior walls.
The superstructure of the walls consisted of mud-brick and timbering. 13 Tiles of
Laconian type were used for the roofs. (Fig. 3)
Despite the fragmentary character of our rescue excavation, a group of
rooms at the southwestern zone of the settlement provides a clear picture of the
arrangement of the houses and the function and use of individual spaces. (See
Plan 2, north of street 5, and Fig. 4) The interior of the houses was accessible
through a long narrow corridor, 3.5 m wide, which communicates directly with
the main street. The main part of the house (ca. 400 m 2 large) extends to the east
of the corridor. 14 The corridor leads off to the courtyard that occupies the central
part of the unit and divides the main (eastern) house into two wings: a) the
northern wing occupied by the rooms shared by the family, and b) the south wing
equipped with a hearth found in situ, where presumably cooking took place. In
general terms, the plan of the Kyparissia houses is similar to those at Olynthos,
although the presence of a portico or veranda (the so-called pastas) that gave
access to the main rooms on the north side of the house, has not yet been
confirmed at Kyparissia. IS The western part of the houses functioned as storerooms, as suggested by a system of rectangular rooms, walls without openings in
12. Wells of similar construction have been excavated during lignite extraction work at
Choremi and Thoknia. However, the important finds from their interior still remain unpublished; see the report by Spyropoulos 1982, 117.
13. The practice of constructing the house walls of adobe reflects the general practice of the
classical period, attested by numerous literary passages of the period: Robinson and Graham
1938,223-5.
14. The eastern end of the house has yet to be found.
15. For the Olynthian house type, see Robinson and Graham 1938, 141-51; Hoepfner and
Schwandner 1994, 82-9. Our knowledge of housing in ancient Arkadia is fragmentary. The
house at Kyparissia presents similarities with the so-called House I at Gortys, which is dated to the
4th century B.C. The rooms are arranged around a central court, the portico (pastas) is absent,
whereas one of the sides of the house is unusually long (ca. 25 m): Reekmans 1955; id. 1956. At
an excavated Roman house at Stymphalos, a long, narrow passage serves as an entrance
leading from the street directly into the courtyard; see Williams et al. 1998,270-4 fig. 2.
PRELIMINARY NOTICES ON THE DISCOVERY OF A PLANNED, ...
335
their outer face and the discovery of a large number of storage vessels and
pottery of lesser quality.16
From 30 to 85 m south of the Sikalias streambed, excavations have brought to
light the northern section of the fortification wall of the settlement to a total
length of 250 m.17 (See Plan 2) This wall, 3.5 m wide, runs parallel to Sikalias and
then takes a strong turn to the west-southwest towards the hill of Hagia Kyriaki.
Only the lower part of its foundation has survived to a height of ca. 0040 to 0.60
m. It consists of roughly shaped limestone slabs of moderate size and of a core of
small stones, earth and pithos-sherds. (Fig, 5) The upper part of the stone
foundation, the AleOAOYTUlO:, should have been constructed more carefully and
provided the proper surface for the mud-brick superstructure of the wall. 18
The excavation of the best-preserved part of the wall has not yet confirmed
the systematic use of towers.19 However, an ellipsoid, tower-like structure, 5 x
4.5 m large, with a curved front has been uncovered ca, 30 m south of the Sikalias
streambed. 20 At a distance of 90 m to the southwest of the tower, excavations
have revealed a rectangular indentation in the inner face of the wall that could be
identified as the lower part of a staircase leading to the battlement.21 Finally, at a
distance of ca. 40 m northwest of the course of the wall, the remains of another
rectangular tower were uncovered, probably connected with an outwork.
At the southern border of the settlement, on the northeast foot of the hill of
16. The internal arrangement of the house complex at Kyparissia presents close similarities
with House A vii 7 at Olynthos: Robinson and Graham 1938, 123-4, pis. 42 and 99.
17. Today the stream has been diverted towards the northwest for the needs of DEI.
18. The original defence wall at Kyparissia might have presented similarities with the wellpreserved Peisistratian wall at Eleusis, dated to the mid-6th century B.C. (see Ziro 1991, 11-6,
pis. 4-5, esp. p. 14 n. 40). In general terms, fortification works in the mainland, until the Hellenistic period, are characterised by deep foundations of unworked stones that created not only a
strong base for the upper part of the defence wall, but also prevented the digging of trenches
beneath it (Stefanidou-Tiveriou 1998,99 fig. 56, and 104 plan 28).
19. The defence tower represents one of the main characteristics of the original appearance
of fortification walls at least from the mid-6th century B.C. on; see Ziro 1991, 16 n. 50. Before
the end of the archaic period such additions appear occasionally in the defence walls of settlements in the mainland and Asia Minor (Lang 1996, 31).
20. Semicircular defence towers appear in Sicily, South Italy, the Greek mainland and Asia
Minor already in the middle of the 6th century B.C. (Wokalek 1973, 123-5). The ellipsoid
tower at Kyparissia seems to predate the strong semicircular towers of the fortification walls of
the Arkadian towns of the 4th century B.C., e.g. Mantineia, StymphaJos and Gortys. Similar
oval towers with rounded fronts flank the gate of the late archaic wall of Mendolito at Sicily
(Bouyia 2000, 72 fig. 38, and 73 n. 37 with further bibliography).
21. Compare the reconstruction of the staircase of access to the brick-made wall at Athens:
Orlandos 1955,79 fig. 38.
336
ANNA VASILIKI KARAPANAGIOTOU
Hagia Kyriaki, the remains of a graveyard dated to the Roman imperial period
have been uncovered. The graveyard contained fourteen tombs in clusters,
bordered by enclosure walls. The cist graves were made of limestone slabs. Each
grave held a skeleton laid down in a supine, extended position directly on the
earth, and was regularly furnished with a pot close to the skull. All grave
offerings date to the Roman period. Until present, no funerary remains earlier
than the Roman imperial period have been identified at the site.
Ill. The organization of the town
The town of Kyparissia holds a distinct place in the archaeology of southwestern
Arkadia. (Plan 1) Nevertheless, the proper position of the Megalopolis basin on
both sides of the Alpheios river and between Mount Lykaion and Mount
Mainalon, has favored the development of a number of settlements since the
archaic period. 22 The position of the town at Kyparissia in the Megalopolis plain
would have been very suitable for an urban settlement planned after a strictly
geometric system.
The urban system of rectangular blocks traversed by streets is reminiscent
of that implemented for the first time when the first Mediterranean colonies
were founded during the Greek colonization. 23 This orthogonal system served
not only practical purposes but also the sense of equal partnership (IOO\lOlplCX)
between the colonists. On the Greek mainland it was applied already in the 6th
century B.C., e.g. at Amvrakia (modern Arta) and Leukas, two Corinthian
colonies at the Ionian Sea,24 and Halieis in Southern Argolid. 25 An increase in the
number of 'Streifenst1idte' is noticed during the 5th and, particularly, the 4th
century B.c., when this system of urban planning reached its full development. 26
Instructive cases are Olynthos in Macedonia and Kassope in Epeiros, two poieis
that were synoecized in 432 B.c. and the middle of the 4th century B.C.
respectively.n
22.
23.
24.
25.
Hejnic 1961,99.
Hoepfner and Schwandner 1994,299-301.
For Amvrakia, see Vokotopoulou 1971; Andreou 1993. For Leukas, see Andreou 1998.
Boyd and Rudolph 1978; Rudolph 1984.
26. i.e. cities divided per strigas in Roman terminology. Cp. for the term Hoepfner and
Schwandner 1994, XVI, 1-2 and 305-6. Such organized, urbanistic patterns, characterized by
simplicity, are clearly distinguished from the more developed Hippodamean towns.
27. For Olynthos, see supra n. 10. For Kassope, see Dakaris 1984; Hoepfner and Schwandner
1994, 114-79. The internal arrangement of another' Streifenstadt' is archaeologically documented at the small settlement at Orraon, north of Amvrakia, founded in 360 RC. (Dakaris
1986).
PRELIMINARY NOTICES ON THE DISCOVERY OF A PLANNED, ,..
337
Archaeometric studies and excavation have demonstrated that at least one
more regularly planned polis existed in ancient Arkadia: Stymphalos, of the 4th
century B.C., situated at the northeastern frontier of the region. 28 Its position
within a plain and its enclosure by a fortification wall correspond with the
evidence from Kyparissia. 29 By analogy to Stymphalos, the fortification wall at
Kyparissia should be reconstructed as irregularly polygonal. (Plan 2) The
fortified site of Kyparissia followed the 'vilIes mixtes' model and included the hill
of Hagia Kyriaki, where in all probability the acropolis of the ancient city was
situated as suggested by DodweII's report. 30 One could estimate the maximum
length of the fortified area to 1000 m on a north-south axis, and the maximum
width to 650 m. 3 ! Consequently, the area enclosed by the walls occupied at least
40 ha. 32
As mentioned above, the urban plan of the discovered town, apart from the
size of its blocks, corresponds closely to Olynthos and Kassope. 33 The precise
28. For the geophysical survey at Stymphalos, see Williams 1983; id. 1984, 174-86; id.
1985; id. 1988. For the excavations, see WilIiams and Cronkite Price 1995; Williams 1996; WiIliams et al. 1997; Williams et al. 1998; and the paper by H. WilIiams in this volume. According
to the interim reports presented in Williams et al. 1998,279-80, it is clear that the site of
ancient Stymphalos was in use as early as the classical period; the flourishing of the city
stretched from the 4th to the 2nd century B.C., but the extensive building activity during the
early 1st century A.D. makes the study of the early history of the city difficult.
29. For the plan of ancient Stymphalos, see Williams et al. 1998,262 fig. 1. For the date of
the construction of the walls, see eid. 1998, 305-8 and 312-5.
30. Dodwell 1819,379-80. The 'villes mixtes' model, i.e. towns that combine the defensive
advantages of a hill with facilities for agriculture and communication provided by the plain, are
frequently attested in Arkadia during the archaic and classical periods (1ost 1999, 198-201). The
hill of Hagia Kyriaki is steep and wooded and difficult of access. The results of the recent
surface survey on the top of the hill have not yet confirmed Dodwel\'s report. However, this
may be due to modern human interference with the landscape of the hill.
31. The walls of Stymphalos enclose an area about 850 m east-west by 700 m north-south
with a total circumference of about 2.3 km, as Willams 1988,232-3 mentions.
32. The urban centres of Mantinea, Tegea and Megalopolis covered a large area (124 ha,
ca. 190 ha and ca. 350 ha respectively) on ground level; the acropolis together with the lower
city of the small polis of Asea was at least 25 ha large. For the size of some urban centres of
Arkadia during the archaic and classical period, see Forsen 2000, 39-41. Concerning the
definition and the size of an ancient Greek town, see recently Forsen and Forsen 1997, 166-72.
33. For the planning of Olynthos see Hoepfner and Schwandner 1994, 76-7, and for Kassopi, Dakaris 1984, 17-8. The width of the block at Olynthos is 36 m, at Kassope and Amvrakia
30 m and at Stymphalos ca. 35 m. In western Greek colonies of the archaic period, the blocks
are large (e.g. Taras is reported to have blocks of ca. 71 by 140 m); see Boyd-Jameson 1981,
340. Large blocks (55 by 175 m) were also anticipated for Heraclea of Lucania, founded in
433/32 B.c.: Castagnoli 1971, 134.
338
ANNA VASILIKI KARAPANAGIOTOU
length of these blocks is not known, since we lack the 'avenues', TTAexTElat,34
that bore the heavy traffic in the centre of the settlement and connected the
blocks with the main gates of the fortification wall. Traces of one such' avenue',
8 m wide, have been recognized in the centre of the excavated site, based mainly
on the fact that it is situated on the axis of the aforementioned indentation in the
inner face of the wall. (See Plan 2, street 3, and Fig. 2) Thus, one could expect
here to discover one of the main gates that would have been protected by this
feature. 35
In addition, the discovery of a house only ca. 20 m south of the course of the
fortification wall may suggest that the settlement was densely built and that the
regular urban plan was applied to the whole extent of the fortified area. No public
centre has been discovered in the town so far. However, the existence of public
buildings is implied by the proper organization of the town and by corresponding
examples from other urban sites with similar plans. 36 The area of the public
buildings should be sought on the north-northwest slopes of the hill of Hagia
Kyriaki, where limited investigation at the end of the 19th century brought to
light structures of public character. 37 (Plan 2)
Similar care must have been taken for the regular distribution of the farmland
east and south of the settlement, although the continuous mining activity of DEI
has deprived archaeologists of a clear view of the ancient countryside. 38 The
cemeteries of Kyparissia would also have been orderly organized. They must
have been located extra muros, along the roads connecting the ancient polis with
its countryside and neighboring settlements. 39 Finally, a religious centre within
the territory controlled by Kyparissia should be identified ca. 1.5 km northeast of
34. Diod. Sic. 12.10.7; Ginouves 1998, 178 with n. 6.
35. It was not possible from the clearing of this part of the wall to verify the existence or
not of a gate. Compare, however, the rectangular indentation near Gate A at Gortys, dated to
the first half of the 4th century: Martin 1947-48,99-102 pI. XIII.
36. A differentiated distribution of land b~ed on different use is a basic characteristic of the
so-called 'Streifenstiidte'; see Hoepfner and Schwandner 1994,305. The position of the agora
has been archaeologically documented at Kassopi (Dakaris 1984, 19-38; Hoepfner and
Schwandner 1994, 124-6) and Amvrakia (Andreou 1993,99).
37. Supra p. 332. It is the site known today as Alonia, part of the privately owned farming
plots of the inhabitants of the village Kyparissia. At Stymphalos, the site destined for public,
political and religious use was situated to the south and southeast of the acropolis; see Orlandos
1925, and Williams et al. 1998,284-5 (for the stadium site).
38. For the division of rural land in Greek planned cities, see Boyd and Jameson 1981. For
the definition of the territory of an ancient Greek town, see Forsen and Forsen 1997, esp. 16672, with an extensive discussion on the territory of Asea.
39. Regarding the traces of such an important road that led from Megalopolis to Mount
Lykaion, via Kyparissia and Mavria, see Pikoulas 1999,293-4, no. 43, pI. 10.
PRELIMINARY NOTICES ON THE DISCOVERY OF A PLANNED, ...
339
the excavation site near Alpheios, at a place known as Vathy Rhevma, where the
ruined chapel of Hagios Georgios is situated. 40 This site has been recognized as
the Bathos mentioned by Pausanias (8.29.1), where every three years a festival
with secret rituals was arranged in honour of the Great Goddesses. 41
IV. The date of the town
The ancient town near Kyparissia belonged to the ethnos of the Parrhasians, one
of those tribes which constituted the nation of the Arkadians.42 Although the
evidence for the early history of the Parrhasians is scarce, the tribe did exist in
the archaic period, as they are mentioned in the Catalogue of Ships.43 A key
document for the study of the tribe is contained in Pausanias' account of the
foundation of Megalopolis around 370 B.c., namely the list of eight Parrhasian
communities, whose inhabitants - like other Arkadians - were convinced to
abandon their homelands in order to found the new city.44 The discovery of the
urban centre near Kyparissia may illuminate critical historical questions
concerning not only the history of Parrhasians but also the internal organization
of the Arkadian tribal states. 45
A careful study of the stratigraphy, in combination with the full and systematical study of the objects, in particular the pottery, is in progress and will
provide us with evidence on the life-span of the settlement, its organization and
the character of its buildings.
A more complete picture of the economic and political connections of the
settlement at Kyparissia with other Greek districts is obtained by the coins found
during the excavations. The majority seems to belong to the 5th and 4th
centuries B.C. 46 The metal objects, of iron and bronze, are connected with the
40. The first trenches in the area were dug by the English team that excavated at Kyparissia
(Bather and Yorke 1892-93,227-9). The finds from the excavation that I have identified in the
storerooms of the National Archaeological Museum and will present in detail elsewhere,
include female terracotta figurines, bronze animal figurines and bronze finger-rings of the
archaic and classical periods. Stefanos Klon conducted excavations at the same area some
years later (1907, 123-4).
41. See also Jost 1985, 170.
42. On the territory and history of the Parrhasians, see Meyer 1968a; Roy 1972; Pikoulas
1990, esp. 474-8.
43. Horn. I/. 2.608.
44. Paus. 8.27.4.
45. For the subject in general see lately Nielsen 1996.
46. a) five (5) bronze coins (418-370 B.C.) from Arkadian Heraia (Babelon 1914,671-8, pI.
228 nos. 15-23), b) one (1) bronze coin (370-363 B.C.) of the Arkadian koinon (ibid. 582-91 pI.
340
ANNA VASILIKI KARAPANAGIOTOU
everyday activities of the inhabitants of this rural settlement, and they include,
inter alia, tools for agricultural use such as sickles and pruning knives, bronze
vessel handles, structural material (e.g. bosses, door handles), lead clamps for
repairing pottery vessels, weights and jewelry and personal ornaments (e.g.
simple bronze finger rings). The most important metal object is the bronze buttend of a spear (aavpc.':lT~p) which is typologically similar to another such object
from Arkadia, dated around 500 B.C. 47
It is also possible to make some preliminary observations on the uncovered
pottery. It is represented by a rich series of storage pithoi and by black-glazed
pots with simple, functional shapes, locally produced. Most of the pottery, which
so far only comes from disturbed, unstratified deposits, dates from the first half
of the 5th to the late 4th century B.C., but there are also a few, albeit typical,
fragments of late archaic pottery.48
Based on the finds, the building technique of the fortification wall and the
urban plan, as well as the history of the region, we can propose the following
chronological development for the settlement at Kyparissia:
1. The site was used as early as the late archaic period. 49
2. The life of the orthogonally planned city reached its peak in the second half
of the 5th to late 4th century B.c. so
3. The city survived at least for a few decades after the foundation of Megalopolis, and then probably disappeared or continued as a small agricultural
settlement. 5 !
224 nos. 8-15), c) one (I) 5th century silver coin from Aigina (ibid. 155-8 pI. 194 nos. 22-25), and
d) one (I) silver coin from Thebes, dated between 379 and 338 B.C. (ibid. 249-50 pI. 201 no. 25).
47. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art acc. no. 38.1l.7: Richter 1939, 194-201 figs. 4-5.
48. My colleague Mrs. Nicola Mueckner, who is currently studying the pottery from recent
Greek-German excavations at the Megalopolis agora, kindly helped me with the assessment of
the pottery finds from Kyparissia and agreed with me on the date of the finds. I thank her for
her valuable help.
49. During preliminary investigations at the eastern foot of the Hagia Kyriaki hill, and at
an unusually deep level, building remains have been uncovered that do not show any connection with the settlement itself. Further systematical investigation may probably confirm the
original suspicion concerning an older phase of the settlement.
SO. It is not accidental that in later 5th century the Parrhasian tribe struck coins, see Roy
1972,45 n. 28.
51. It is historically documented that Asea, a city that took part in the synoecism of Megalopolis, continued to exist as a polis during the Hellenistic period; see Forsen and Forsen 1997,
162. One could plausibly argue the same for the settlement at Kyparissia, although this cannot
at present be confirmed by archaeological data. However, in an Arkadian federal decree (the
Phylarchus-decree: IG V.2, I), dated in the 360s, the Parrhasians are no longer mentioned in
the list of Arkadian tribes; see Roy 1972,45.
PRELIMINARY NOTICES ON THE DISCOVERY OF A PLANNED, ...
341
4. During the Roman imperial times, there existed a small settlement as
confirmed by the cemetery at the foot of the Hagia Kyriaki hill.
V. Kyparissia: A case of synoecism?
E. Kirsten has demonstrated that all polis-centres that were synoecized during
the 5th century B.C. were founded in a plain. 52 These cities are often protected
by a hill and located near a river, as in the case of Kyparissia. Ancient sources
report the foundation of a number of Arkadian towns that were synoecized. The
synoecism of Tegea and the first synoecism of Mantineia are chronologically
placed after the Persian wars.53 Mantineia and Megalopolis were both
synoecized (Mantineia for the second time) by the initiative of Epameinondas in
370 and 368/67 respectively, and both spread over a plain and were not
protected by an acropolis. 54 The synoecism of Heraea is dated to 370 B.C. 55
Unfortunately, our knowledge of the urban planning of these Arkadian centers is
limited; but it is generally accepted that the regular urban plan was chosen for
the poJeis that were synoecized, such as Olynthos and Kassope. 56 Moreover, this
type of plan would effectively protect the basic principle of isomoiria among
those settlers who had abandoned their homelands in order to settle the newly
founded poJeis. 57
The position of the newly discovered settlement at Kyparissia in the plain of
Megalopolis and its regular urban plan could allow the hypothesis that a
synoecism took place in southwestern Arkadia already in the 5th century B.C.,
despite the fact that ancient literary sources do not mention any such event in
Parrhasia. 58 But which historical circumstances could have contributed to the
foundation of the urban centre at Kyparissia?
According to Thucydides, Mantineia was the leading power of a local hegemonial symmachia by 423 B.c. 59 His passage 5.33.1-3 demonstrates that the
52. Kirsten 1964.
53. For the foundation of these two cities, dated ca. 478-473 B.C., see Moggi 1976, 131-9
(Tegea) and 140-56 (Mantineia).
54. For the re-organization of Mantineia: Moggi 1976,251-6. For the synoecism of Megalopolis: ibid. 293-324.
55. Moggi 1976,256-62.
56. The archaeological evidence concerning the urban plan of Mantineia is still limited; see
generally Hodkinson and Hodkinson 1981,258-60.
57. For the conditions of founding a city under synoecism, see Nielsen 1996, 65.
58. Williams 1988,233-4, attributes also the foundation of Stymphalos in the 4th century
B.C. to a synoecism.
59. For this Mantineian symmachia, see Nielsen 1996,79-84.
342
ANNA VASILIKI KARAPANAGIOTOU
Parrhasians were members of this alliance until 421 RC.; previously, the
Mantineians had kept their Parrhasian allies in a subordinate position and placed a
garrison in their territory. In 421 the Lakedaimonians detached the Parrhasians
from the symmachia and made them autonomoi. Quite remarkably, Thucydides
refers to the Parrhasians as poJeis: Tae;; EV nappaalo\e;; TTOAW;; (5.33.2).60 Undoubtedly, the discovery of the town at Kyparissia confirms Thucydides' testimony for the existence of poJeis in Parrhasia during the classical period. It also
confirms Th.H. Nielsen's thesis that Arkadian tribes - among them the Parrhasians
- "at least from the fifth century were united in what we can call tribal states and
that these were subdivided into poJeis ... " and that in classical Arkadia "tribal
organization and poJis structure co-existed".61 The urban planning of Kyparissia
sheds some light on the vague picture of the organization of the Parrhasian tribal
state. Thus, already in mid-5th century RC. a strong political and administrative
centre was founded in Parrhasia by the union of several pre-existing communities in the area.
VI. The name of the poJis
Due to the absence of epigraphical evidence, the attribution of a name to the
urban centre at Kyparissia is risky. Pausanias reports two ruined towns in the
area, Trapezous and Basilis, which could give a name to our settlement. 62
Although this study is based mainly on a preliminary study of the archaeological
evidence, it is tempting to identify the settlement at Kyparissia with Arkadian
Trapezous,63 the only Parrhasian town attested in ancient sources 64 as early as
the 6th century B.C. 65 Unlike Basilis, it was among the towns of Parrhasia that
participated in the synoecism of Megalopolis. But Pausanias also states (8.27.56) that the people of Trapezous did not accept the decision taken by the tribal
authorities of the Parrhasians to settle in the recently founded city of
Megalopolis. Their reaction was not left unpunished by the rest of the Arkadians,
and those of the Trapezountians who saved their lives, abandoned their city and
went to Trapezous of Pontos, where they were accepted ~ETpoTToAITae;; T'
OVTac; KO \ o~wvu~ove;;.
The archaeological evidence from Kyparissia corresponds in the most
60. Nielsen 1996, 80-1 and 83.
61. Nielsen 1996, 100-3, esp. 100. For the organization of the Parrhasians in the classical
period, compare also Pikoulas 1990,474-5.
62. For the opinions which have been expressed previously see supra n. 3.
63. Hejnic 1961, 15,42,44,60,61,65,67,75,81,82,85,88,91,92; Meyer 1968b.
64. As Roy 1972, 50 correctly remarks, tribal cohesion among the Parrhasians was strong.
65. Hdt. 6.127.
PRELIMINARY NOTICES ON THE DISCOVERY OF A PLANNED, ...
343
remarkable way to the historical facts connected with Trapezous. As mentioned
above, there are clear indications that the area was inhabited since the archaic
period. The abandonment of the settlement also corresponds precisely with
events mentioned by Pausanias and connected with the history of Trapezous.
Xenophon's statement (Anab. 4.8.22) that Trapezous of Pontos was a colony of
Sin ope has raised scholarly interest regarding the connection between Arkadian
and Pontic Trapezous. 66 Indications of direct contacts between the two
homonymous poieis can be drawn from the historical narrative: the famous
March of the Ten Thousand who managed in 401/00 B.c., under the leadership of
the Athenian Xenophon, to proceed through Anatolia and reach Trapezous of
Pontos, from where they returned to their homeland. It is well known that a
great number of these mercenaries were Arkadians,67 among whom Parrhasians
are also mentioned with their own name. Consequently, a close relationship
between Arkadian and Pontic Trapezous is historically attested at least thirty
years before the synoecism of Megalopolis. This fact could, to some extent,
justify the settlement of the inhabitants of the Arkadian city in the homonymous
city at Pontos.
The discovery of the ancient settlement near Kyparissia opens new horizons
for the study of the historical topography, residential architecture and political
and social organization of classical Arkadian centres. Despite the incomplete
archaeological investigation at Kyparissia, it is plausible to argue that we are
dealing with a strong and organized, urban centre that had contacts not only with
other Arkadian cities, but also with other Greek centres. Furthermore, it is of
great significance that for the first time, an urban centre with a preconceived
regular plan going back to the early classical period has been uncovered in
western Arkadia.
Anna Vassiliki Karapanagiotou
E' Ephorate of Prehistorical and Classical Antiquities
133, K. Palaiologou Street
GR - 231 ()() Sparta
Greece
66. Regarding the connection between Arkadian and Pontic Trapezous, see Janssens 1969,
31-5; Lampsidis 1990; Vagiakakos 1990,453-4.
67. Mercenary service was one of the principal income sources of the Arkadians already
from the classical period. As stated by Xenophon, 4000 out of the 10,000 mercenaries of Kyros
were Arkadians; see Roy 1999,346-9.
344
ANNA VASILIKI KARAPANAGIOTOU
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PRELIMINAR Y NOTICES ON THE DISCOVERY OF A PLANNED, ...
Fig. 1. Kyparissia: Aerial photo of the ancient settlement. (Photo: E' Ephorate.)
347
348
ANNA VASILIKI KARAPANAGIOTOU
Fig. 2. Kyparissia: View of the central zone of the habitation area, with Streets 2, 3 and 5,
seen from east. (Photo: E' Ephorate.)
Fig. 3. Kyparissia. Detail of Street 3, with pavement, drainage channel and rooms behind
it, seen from southwest. (Photo: E' Ephorate.)
PRELIMINARY NOTICES ON THE DISCOVERY OF A PLANNED, ...
349
Fig. 4. Kyparissia. General view of the house-complex north of Street 5, seen from
southwest. (Photo: E' Ephorate.)
Fig. 5. Kyparissia. Detail of the fortification wall. (Photo: E' Ephorate.)
ANNA VASILIKI KARAPANAGIOTOU
350
'"
o
I, "
2
"
"
' "
10
I
12
I
14
!6
I
I
Plan 1. Map of southwestern Arkadia. (Plan: based on Petronotis 1973, fig. 3.)
20
22200
22.200
/1,
,r
/-'/""'''~
....
22.000
22.000
21.800
21.BOO
.f
/f
f
Il
:.
,:
21.600
4;.600
21.400
21.200
21.200
Plan 2. Topographical plan of the ancient settlement near K yparissia. (Plan: E ' Ephorate.)